Sorry to hear mate. My sympathies all around. _________________"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven

Peter Bradley

_________________"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, 'Save us!' And I'll look down, and whisper 'No.' " ~Rorschach

Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:06 am

Ghul

Ulthal

Joined: Fri May 05, 2006 7:00 amPosts: 575

Sorry for the loss of your friend and creative mentor/inspiration, James. My condolences.

Best wishes,

--Jeff Talanian

Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:08 am

Matthew

Unkbartig

Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2007 7:00 amPosts: 897

Sad news. Many sympathies._________________It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after ones own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.

Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350)

Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:12 am

slimykuotoan

Greater Lore Drake

Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2007 8:00 amPosts: 3620Location: Nine Hells

Not good to hear...

I think we're an aged generation, which perhaps means we'll have to oft bear the brunt of frequent, unfortunate news.

Take much care

_________________For crying out loud, do what you can with the attributes the dice have given you. This is what separates the men from the boys... -Kayolan

_________________Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael

Grand Knight Commander of the Society.

Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:17 am

Emryys

Red Cap

Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 7:00 amPosts: 373

Another Icon.... Truly Sad _________________

Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:41 am

Bowbe

Red Cap

Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 7:00 amPosts: 358

My prayers and thoughts go out to his family and to we his friends. Bob was a great guy, with voluminous knowledge and great love for his creation.

I enjoyed several long conversations with Bob while working on the Wilderlands box' set thru Necro. He gave me a lot of great tips as a writer just starting out in this business and I cannot express enough how his suggestions have helped to shape my writing.

With Sympathy

Casey W. Christofferson

Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:14 pm

Geleg

Ulthal

Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 7:00 amPosts: 545Location: Greensboro, NC

Like others I am saddened by this news. JG has provided some of my fondest memories in rpg-ing. Mr. Bledsaw was a creative genius and, so it seems, a genuinely nice guy. Rest in peace._________________The only thing you find in the middle of the road are dead animals and dumb Americans - Anton Newcombe

jamesmishler wrote:Bob was a good man, a creator of worlds, and a great friend.

Indeed. For his family and friends, I'll miss him too.

I'm glad i got a chance to spend some time with him a few years back, Lucky I was, for I thanked him in person, for all that he had done in contributing to gaming, and in telling him how his work improved our otherwise mundane young lives. Our time spent playing his games kept us away from troubles that many of our teenage peers otherwise invariably found that led them into trouble with the law, or likewise in life. We talked about that for awhile. He told me he planned to publish quite a bit more about the Wilderlands, and he told me his favorite city was Tarantis.

His work took the edge off that logical world that Supertramp sang about so many years ago.

He inspired me when he told me to build games and advantures the way I wanted, and not to let anyone else discourage me.

When James says he was a good man, I will attest to that here.

One day, when I was working at a convention, at the end of that convention, Bob comes up to me and says I need your help. Come on out with me to the back dock. When we got out there, we met Lou Zocchi, and Lou pulled up his old battered van. Then Bob said:We are going to help him load up his van. He has to drive about 12 hours today to get home to Biloxi, and he came alone.

We loaded out his van in just under an hour. Lou always takes everything he needs to a small convention, including tables, display stands, all his product, those wonderful dice, some magic items, lots of books of course.

We filled the van. There wasn't even any room for any passengers, that's how much stuff he had brought.

That's the kind of guy Bob was, and how I'll remember him, and how I want you to know him. Taking the time to help others, unasked, but much appreciated. Them old guys built an Industry doing that.

Thanks Bob, for everything!

Badabaskor was always my favorite supplement. It's the Emerald Star, and the Lion's Den with the three Troll Brothers, and the Hole in the Hill, and the Seven Winds House. It's where my players obtained their first Pegasus mounts.

Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:07 pm

Deogolf

Lore Drake

Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 7:00 amPosts: 1548

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends! I enjoyed his JG material. He will be greatly missed! _________________Eulaliaaa!!! Give those rapscallions blood and vinegar, wot?!

I am so very sorry to learn this. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

I had a chance to meet Bob a few years ago at PentaCon in Fort Wayne Indiana. We spoke for a few minutes and I had a chance to thank him for Judges Guild and all the good times I have had over the years because of the things he wrote and published. Another great loss for our hobby.

Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:14 pm

Eisenmann

Ulthal

Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:00 amPosts: 470

Dang. My condolences to his family and friends.

I'll never forget the wonder as a kid when I'd see the Judges Guild ad in Dragon magazine. He truly helped expand the vista of wonder in gaming.

jamesmishler wrote:It is with great sadness that I must pass on the news that Robert Bledsaw, founder of Judges Guild, creator of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, died this morning in Decatur, Illinois.

Bob was at his son's home, surrounded by family and loved ones, and passed on to the Great Adventure peacefully.

Bob was a good man, a creator of worlds, and a great friend.

I will have more details on services and memorials in the morning.

Sorry to read about the death of another pioneer of roleplaying. My sympathies to his family and friends. I hope they take comfort in the fact that his work provided hours of imaginative fun to groups of gamers far and wide.

_________________I have existed from the morning of the world and I shall exist until the last star falls from the night. Although I have taken the form of Gaius Caligula, I am all men as I am no man and therefore I am... a god.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:31 pm

Aladar

Lore Drake

Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:00 amPosts: 1261Location: Elgin, OK

Another icon of our hobby has passed on. I have good memories of running many a JG module, Tegal Manor being one of my all time favorites.

Mr. Bledsaw will be be sorely missed. My sympathies go out to his family and friends._________________Lord Aladar

_________________Lord AladarWarden of the Welk WoodBaron of the Castles & Crusades SocietyThe Poster formerly known as AlwynSenior Gamer - Member of the Senior RPG Tour"NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT - At least not in Yu Gi Oh"

I am very sorry to hear of Bob's passing. My condolences to his family and friends.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:10 pm

serleran

Mogrl

Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:00 amPosts: 13806

Misery runs in sets. I am grateful for having met Bob, and having talked to him for a while. He was an insightful, funny person... the kind of friend to have, if you could. And, without him, there would never have been so many wonderful "old-school" products. We will miss your genius, Bob. Thanks.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:36 pm

Bowbe

Red Cap

Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 7:00 amPosts: 358

What a lot of people unfamilar with Judges Guild do not know is just how influential Bob was in helping out the development and growth of AD&D hence the shout out that Gary gave him in the original AD&D DMG.

It wasn't just about the Wilderlands. Bob in some ways helped the whole enchilada get its sauce.

Case

Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:47 pm

jamesmishler

Ulthal

Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 7:00 amPosts: 724

If you wish to send a few words that will certainly reach the family, you can go here to read the obituary on the funeral home's site, and at the bottom is a link for sending in condolences:http://gracelandfairlawn.com/obituary.a ... %20Bledsaw_________________James Mishler

This has been a sad year so far, with the loss of two such wonderful creators of the "old school"... Part of what I always loved about the JG products was that it was so obviously created and distributed from real fans of roleplaying; in the beginning, these people were obviously not making a huge profit, but they did the best they could to create fun places with a quirky sense of humor which made you think "these guys are real gamers!"

My condolences along with everyone else's to Bob's family and friends. He's probably sitting at Gary's gaming table right now... Let's raise a glass to his memory, and game on as best we can. _________________Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.

_________________Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.

Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:57 pm

Hrolfgar

Red Cap

Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:00 amPosts: 398

My condolences to Mr. Bledsaws family and friends.

The City State was my 1st rpg product that wasn't a rulebook. It was great back then and is still great today.

Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:24 am

jamesmishler

Ulthal

Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 7:00 amPosts: 724

Decatur: There and Back Again

It was my birthday.

But rather than celebrating my 39th with the love of my life as we had planned, I was driving down to central Illinois to honor the life of one of my best friends. Robert E. "Bob" Bledsaw, founder of Judges Guild, the creator of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy, the game-industry hero of my youth and friend and business partner of my early adulthood, had passed away on Saturday, and so on Tuesday, April 22, instead of opening presents and eating ice cream cake, I was driving down to Champaign/Urbana.

Still, there was nowhere else Id rather have been.

Bob had been the best of friends, and the least I could do was be there to honor him at the last. So early Tuesday I drove down from the wilds of Waupaca County to Madison, where Google Maps proved its utter FAILability and got me lost trying to find the home of my friend, Shane Glodoski (a.k.a. Plaag, the keeper of the Judges Guild sub-web at The Acaeum). After driving around in circles for a while I finally called him and got real directions. Together we then drove down to Champaign-Urbana, where we were to stay the night. The plan was to meet up with fellow Guild-Friends John Barnes and Jeff Rients for a memorial dinner and game.

John called us from Champaign-Urbana while we were still several hours away; with the intermittent reception we were able to determine that he was in town early and checking out the hotels. We told him wed call him again to make final arrangements of where to meet when we were about a half-hour out of town.

Of course, Shane and I were jibber-jabbering incessantly about Bob, Judges Guild, the adventure games industry, and everything related, and failed to notice when we were getting close to Champaign-Urbana. Then another call came and thats when I noticed a sign stating that we were only 16 miles out. Doh! Poor John probably thought wed forgotten about him, but in truth (as he found out later) theres something about my car that makes people just talk on and on and on

So eventually after the long drive (that seemed much shorter thanks to yakking away) we met with John at the hotel, checked in, and called Jeff to arrange where to meet for dinner. We decided on a Cracker Barrel one exit down the highway, and so set off to meet him.

And of course, we got lost. Now with three, the jibber-jabber effect was magnified, and we totally missed the frontage road and the Cracker Barrel sign set off slightly there from. So we drive south, halfway into Champaign-Urbana before deciding we missed it, then turned around and went the same distance north of the highway, missing it again. We all concentrated on finding it on the return trip south, and so 15 minutes after first turning off the exit ramp, we find the restaurant 100 yards away from the exit ramp.

If it had been a dragon, it would have killed us and eaten us before we knew what hit us. And people complain about surprise segments sheesh.

So we finally get to the Cracker Barrel and order drinks while waiting for Jeff. The strawberry lemonade there was fantastic; I think I drank a whole California countys worth of strawberries while there. Jeff arrived with his daughter, and soon thereafter his lovely wife joined us, and we ordered.

Im not certain how the butter-fried chicken tasted, as I was still possessed by the spirit of the car, and got to jawing on about this, that, and the other (ranging from Bob and Judges Guild to the OGL/GSL situation, to the future or lack thereof of D&D 4E, and everything in between). By the time we pushed back from the table, the chicken was long cold and untouched, though many a lemonade made a valiant sacrifice for that repast.

We then followed Jeff to his apartment where we played one of the best OD&D game sessions Ive ever had the honor of participating in (surpassed only by the venture into the dungeons of Castle Greyhawk at the table of Gary himself). Jeff has a fine run-down of the session on his blog, including the introduction to the adventure, here: http://jrients.blogspot.com/

It was past midnight when we completed the quest to recover the Silver Volume, and so with much regret we left Jeffs fine game table and even finer game mastery to retire for the night. Wouldnt do to drive all this way and miss the services!

The next morning, bright and bleary (some more bleary than others; poor Shane bore the full brunt of my notorious snoring, while John seemed to be blissfully immune to it somehow), we set off for Decatur, and got to the church a full hour before the services were to begin. There we first met Debi (Bledsaw) Summerlott, Bobs sister, and then Bob Junior arrived with his family. I spoke briefly with Bob Junior as he, of course, had to greet incoming mourners. It was a truly bittersweet moment; we had talked extensively over the phone during his fathers illness, but this was the first time we truly met face-to-face (other than a brief hello in passing at Gen Con many years ago).

The church slowly filled up; it was a good showing, though I think perhaps the three of us were the only Guild-fans to show up (there were a few others in the back that might have been, but I never got a chance to speak with them).

The ceremony was lovely, traditional Nazarene I suppose, with several hymns and two songs by live singers (one a very talented young girl who knew Bob and his father, the other I believe was Bobs daughter-in-law). The only hiccup during the service was that the pastor thought Bob was involved in computer games; he apparently mistook Bobs love of playing online games for his career of publishing tabletop games (an honest mistake that most of my family makes of my own career to this day). At the end everyone filed past the family in the front pew and offered condolences.

We then all got into our cars to drive to the cemetery for the gravesite service. Bill Owen, Bob's original partner in founding Judges Guild and the Llangwellen the Blue, joined Shane, John, and I in our car (we were fourth in line, IIRC). On the way we discussed Bill and Bobs work and friendship together.

At the gravesite the officiate chanted a hymn (reminded me of an old Anglo-Saxon dirge), and then played a song on a boom box while releasing white doves. Interestingly, after the doves flew off together over the crowd, one made off on its own path how very true to form.

After the gravesite service, Bill again joined us on the return trip to the church. On the way we stopped by one of the old Judges Guild offices, now home to a YWCA annex. I took a few pictures, which will be posted on the AGP site and likely Acaeum JG Sub-Web soon.

The luncheon was very nice. We sat with Bill and Sam, Bob Juniors middle son. Sam informed us that he was planning to study art when he goes to college next year; Sonny (Bob III, Bob Juniors oldest boy) is about to finish his engineering studies (following in Bobs footsteps), and Martin, the second-oldest, is studying computers. Sounds like the Bledsaw clan will soon be able to put together a game company on their own!

The luncheon wound down, and it was time to be moving on. I spoke again briefly with Bob Junior (whom I am going to have to get used to referring as Bob now, I suppose), and handed to him several special pre-production copies of the Rhadamanthia Continental Map (about 98% complete, and based on Bobs maps and notes that he sent me several years ago). I had several copies made up for Bobs sons and for Bill; unfortunately, Bob himself never got to see the map, as I sent it on via e-mail only the night before he passed away.

It was during the drive to the gravesite that Bill mentioned how unfortunate it was that we would never get to see the expansion of the Wilderlands that he had spoken of with Bob during the last several months. He was pleasantly surprised when I handed him his copy of the map on returning to the church after the gravesite service. Bob Junior, too, was very pleasantly surprised, as was Marc Summerlott, former Judges Guild employee and Bobs brother-in-law, who saw the map as I was passing it to Bob. I felt it a great honor to hand to Bobs sons and friends a physical representation of the world he had created.

Bob (Junior) and family then left, and we were, as the first to arrive, almost the last to leave (reluctantly). As she was the first we met when we arrived, so Debi and her husband Marc were the last we saw when we left. We spoke with Marc a bit and, I am sure, found a fast and firm friend who would look out for Bobs legacy as strongly as we.

Shane and I in my car, and John in his, we then went to Bobs house on Walnut Grove; we planned to take a picture, but a family already lives there, so thought discretion were better.

We then went to the Sunnyside Road location, the last and greatest Judges Guild office, the old schoolhouse, today a church! As there was only a groundskeeper there mowing the lawn in back, we quickly took some pictures while marveling at how big the offices were for the day (at the time, almost as big as TSR before the move to Sheridan Springs Road). At that point, close to the highway, Shane and I parted ways with John, who drove off to his home in Ohio. As we left we paid our last farewells to Decatur, and to Our Guildmaster.

The drive back to Madison was quiet and uneventful. Shane finally got some long-delayed sleep. Good time was made. After dropping Shane off in Madison the last, lonely leg of the journey seemed the longest, though of course it was in fact the shortest.

When I arrived in Stevens Point I stopped to tank up, and noticed my rear drivers side tire was almost flat; as the drive down had been fine, and the drive up to Madison okay, I figure I picked up a nail somewhere north of Madison. I pumped up the tire in the dark, then drove the last few miles home, hoping to avoid a blowout or flat. Luck was with me and I made my saving throw vs. Flat Tire, and got home in the early hours of night.

The love of my life was there, ready with gifts to celebrate the delayed birthday. I was home. The Future

One of the things discussed by Shane and John and I during the trip was the future of Judges Guild and, more specifically, the future of Adventure Games Publishing. At this time, all things are continuing as they had under Bob; Bob Junior and his brothers are determined that their fathers legacy will live on. Necromancer Games will continue on with Tegel Manor for 4E; AGP will continue on with the Wilderlands of High Adventure for Castles & Crusades and the Wilderlands of High Fantasy for OGL d20 ver3.5. No changes are planned at this time. And there are still plenty of firm friends among the old Judges Guild crew. Once the family has had time to mourn, only then will business be discussed. Whatever happens, the Wilderlands, and Bobs legacy, will live on._________________James Mishler

I confess that is was only recently that I discovered and begun to explore some of the Wilderlands material and everything I know about Judges Guild has come about in the past couple of years. Though I regret not coming across it sooner (I've started playing AD&D back in the late 80s) the future of the settind seems to be in good hands.

M_________________"You face Death itself in the form of... 1d4 Tarrasques!"

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum